Baseball bat grip



N v- 7, 1953 G. J. LE TOURNEAU 2,659,605 3 BASEBALL BAT GRIP J FiledFeb. 25, 1952 INVENTOR. George J. LeTourneuu wdw W444 Attorneys PatentedNov. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BASEBALL BAT GRIP George J.Letourneau, Central Falls, R. I. Application February 25, 1952, SerialNo. 273,229

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a baseball bat.

Baseball bats are usually formed of one solid piece of wood taperedthroughout substantially its length, and the smaller end of the bat isused as the handle. The balance of the bat usually requires that the batbe held at a certain position. There is nothing on the usual bat toindicate what this position should be.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a handle portionwhich will definitely locate Where the hands are to be positioned withreference to the balance of the bat.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grip portion of the batwhich will permit the bat to be more readily gripped and hung on to thanwere the bare wood presented to the hands of the user.

Another object of this invention is to provide beads at opposite ends ofthe handle portion so that the bat cannot readily slip from the handslengthwise or axially of the bat.

Another object of the invention is to protect the knuckles of thebatters hands against being hit by the ball under certain conditions.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bat made in conformity with thisinvention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a fragmental portion of the bat showingparticularly the handle of the bat wherein my invention lies; and

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

In proceedin with this invention, I have provided sponge rubber alongthe handle of the bat between two beads which will assist in preventingthe hands from slipping lengthwise along the handle while providing abetter grip for the bat and also locating the hands by positioning thegrip where the bat will be best balanced when the hands are positionedon the grip.

With reference to the drawings, l designates the body of the bat whichis formed of wood and is turned down on a usual taper along the outerportion ll thereof. At the handle portion designated generally l2, thewood is turned down to a smaller cylindrical diameter designatedgenerally I2 of substantially uniform diameter, presenting squareshoulders l3 and I4 at either end of this reduced portion.

Along this reduced portion 12 I have provided two layers, an inner layerI and an outer layer 16, of sponge rubber which are cemented to theportion 1 2 with the ends of the inner layer abutting, While the outerlayer is Wrapped about the inner layer with its end portions also inabutting relation and cemented together and the outer layer is securedto the inner layer. The two layers combined extend to the shoulders 13and I4.

At either end of the rubber layers there extend radially outwardlyrounded beads H and I8 which extend circularly about the bat and are ofsuch dimension as to prevent the hands from sliding axially along thehandle in either direction. The taper from one end of the bat to thehandle is substantially uniform with the beads having a diameter so asto project outwardly beyond this line of taper. The beads are of thesame solid piece of material as the wood of the bat and are thus rigidtherewith.

The rounded beads will extend sufliciently so that the knuckles of thebatters hands will be protected against certain foul balls that may bedeflected toward the hands.

The rubber may be replaced when worn or should the same become injuredin use.

I claim:

A baseball bat comprising a wooden body of sharply reduced diameteradjacent one end providing spaced shoulders, a layer of sponge rubberembracing said portion of reduced diameter and extending from oneshoulder to the other, a second similar layer of sponge rubber extendmgbetween said shoulders, said layers being ce- Inented together andproviding a handle gripping portion, the outer surface of said bodybeing tapered, and circular Wooden beads of the same piece of materialas the body and of a diameter to extend outwardly beyond the saidtapered surface at either end of the handle gripping portion to assistin locating the hands on the handle between said beads to prevent thehands from slipping along the bat.

GEORGE J. LETOURNEAU.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 748,000 Murnane Dec. 29, 1903 1,063,563 May June 3, 19131,110,487 Hillerich Sept. 15, 1914 1,325,813 Taylor Dec. 23, 19191,469,766 Blair Oct. 9, 1923 1,626,967 Reach May 3, 1927 2,099,521Herkimer et al. Nov. 16, 1937

